World number 1 Rafa Nadal qualified top of the Group A in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals as he beat hard hitting Tomas Berdych 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the last match of the round robin. Nadal needed to win a set to take pole position, which he did brilliantly by running the 6ft 5 Czech star ragged in the opening set. Berdych on his own, had to win the match in order to qualify out of the group, he gave himself hope by almost beating Rafa to a bagel in the second set, but the highly rated Spaniard cleared his doubts as he powered through the deciding set.
Rafael Nadal who was the 2010 runner-up has now defeated Tomas Berdych for the 16th straight time, he has won 10 titles from 13 finals since returning from a seven-month injury lay-off in February. He has compiled a 23-4 record against Top 10 opponents in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The win means that he will face fourth seed Juan Martin del Potro or sixth seed and six-time former champion Roger Federer in the semi-finals on Sunday.
Nadal’s win ensured that seventh seed Stanislas Wawrinka also qualifies for the semi-finals after beating David Ferrer 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-1. The Swiss who is having his best season ever, will face world number 2 Novak Djokovic in the Semis. He is also two match wins away from 300 victories in his career, that means he has to win his inaugural Barclays Atp Tour Finals to reach that limestone.
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